This week's Classical CD reviews

FX RICHTER: SIX SYMPHONIES
Helsinki Baroque Orchestra/ Aapo Häkkinen

Naxos8.570597 ****

The symphonies recorded here are the second set of six from the Grandes Symphoniesby Franz Xaver Richter (1709-89), published in Paris in 1744. These symphonies pre-date Richter's association with the Mannheim school that was to impress Mozart so much – his name was first listed among the Mannheim court musicians in 1747. For works by a little-known composer, they're very striking. At times, you might imagine yourself in the middle of a quirky symphony by CPE Bach, at others somewhere in a concerto grosso by Corelli. The sinewy performances by the period instruments of the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra add greatly to the attractivenss of the work of a composer who often falls between the cracks, and whose work is still rarely heard in concert. www.naxos direct.ie

Choir of King's College Cambridge, AAM/Stephen Cleobury
EMI Classics268 1562 (2 CDs) ***

Recorded live in the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge, this Messiah marks three anniversaries. Handel died 250 year ago; the University of Cambridge was founded 800 years ago; and Arthur Henry Mann (choirmaster at King's from 1876 to 1929), who began stripping away 19th-century accretions to Messiah in the 1890s, died 80 years ago. The new performance, however, is more middle-of-the road than ground- breaking. Mezzo soprano Alice Coote communicates with fervent, contralto-ish richness. Soprano Ailish Tynan sounds gorgeous, but sometimes stretches the scale beyond the plausibly Handelian. Allan Clayton (tenor) and Matthew Rose (bass) fit into the manner of choir and orchestra under Stephen Cleobury – more serviceable than inspiring. www.emiclassics.com


PIANIST OF THE CENTURY
Sviatoslav Richter, various orchestras and conductors
Deutsche Grammophon477 8122 (9 CDs) *****

Deutsche Grammophon was the first Western label to bring the work of the great Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter to attention in the West, with the release of a Schumann LP in 1957. It's collected here with the eight subsequent Richter albums released by DG, all presented as originally coupled, and with reproductions of original artwork and notes. The set is a handsome tribute to a pianist whose unexpected emergence as a mature artist (he was already in his 40s) filled Western listeners with surprise and awe. Some of Richter's greatest recordings are here (Prokofiev's Eighth Sonata and Fifth Concerto, Scriabin's Fifth Sonata, the Schumann Toccata), offering the kind of playing one can but marvel at. www.tinyurl.com/5b9s4r 

ANDRÉ PREVIN, THE GREAT RECORDINGS
London Symphony Orchestra/ André Previn

EMI Classics 267 9692(10 CDs) ****

These recordings, issued as an 80th birthday tribute, represent the André Previn of the 1970s, covering the bulk of his time with the LSO. These were what you might call the Andrew Preview years, when he made his made himself famous through an unforgettable appearance on the Morecambe & Wiseshow. He became the public face of classical music in Britain, and in the recording studio he had the knack of hitting the nail on the head in repertoire as diverse as Messiaen, Orff, Debussy, Shostakovich, Gershwin (a genuflection to his Hollywood past), Prokofiev and a range of English composers. There's a naturalness and ease about these LSO recordings that Previn has not always managed to repeat in the recording studio. www.emiclassics. com